


depth in you

by juicymats



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, Fluff, Gen, Mermaids, i dont know how to tag this honestly., mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29850795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juicymats/pseuds/juicymats
Summary: ozpin makes a new discovery.not without a few problems, though.
Relationships: Ozpin & Oscar Pine
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	depth in you

**Author's Note:**

> hi :)  
> not beta'd, first draft. welocme 2 my hell
> 
> warnings:
> 
> blood/injuries

It all started from a small incident. 

A mistake, some would say. A learning experience, for Ozpin. He had always longingly watched the ocean's waves from the boardwalk, its unpredictable movements and behavior on display. It had always fascinated him. And he couldn't help but be drawn to it.

From his spotty childhood memory, he could remember various tales of tragedy and greed occurring on the sea, painted in his mind as vivid images of everything he found terrifying.

Ozpin had a visceral fear of the unknown. 

But he was a very curious person by nature.

There was a constant itch in the back of his mind at all times. It sometimes helped him avoid danger and making bad decisions. But sometimes it carefully led him into making the most idiotic decisions to get the best results.

Perhaps, in hindsight, he should've seen this coming.

The beach was quiet at night. It was empty of any people to interrupt. Miles and miles that stretched on and on, full of parasols and beach blankets, completely gone. 

Though security walked the shores, Ozpin has gotten used to the gig. Long enough, that it was rather child's play avoiding the authorities. He was no stranger to sneaking around for the sake of his curiosity. 

Ozpin checks the small chart in his hands. He distinctly remembered a formation of rocks that housed a few sea creatures he could not identify. It will be fast. There wasn't any reason for him to stay long.

The sand is cold as he carefully takes the route he had planned out. The rocks stand rigid against the shoreline, containing small alcoves full of water as the sea creatures within beckon him. 

Ozpin pauses when he notices something peculiar.

It is gray. It is moving slightly, almost as if it was stuck. Through a crevice in the alcove nearest to him, Ozpin spots the unidentified limb trapped under a rock. He scrambles, having never been faced with such an issue before.

He drops all of his belongings to inspect the rock. As he pushes, the mysterious appendage tries to break loose.

Normally, the situation would not feel so dire. But the struggles of this creature was worrying. 

"H-Hold on, strange creature! I will- get you out!" Ozpin yelled, trying his hardest to move the rock from its firm position. He had to admit, he was not built for strength. Oz was much more akin to a twig, his limbs bony and awkward. His glasses were struggling to stay in place, making half the endeavor a guessing game of uncertainty.

At last, the rock gives way, but the appendage moves- and suddenly-!

That's when he felt it.

Searing pain.

Oz looks down, noting the razor sharp teeth clinging to his hand, blood dripping below.

Ozpin should probably be screaming. God, does he really want to.

But the...thing in front of him was way too much to look away from. Attached to the teeth currently digging into Oz's palm was something ridiculously ugly.

Its eyes wide, the creature looks at Oz with contempt. Its claws had wrapped themselves around Ozpin's wrist, digging slightly into his skin. 

It was hurting.

Very badly.

But Ozpin could not move. The creature had attacked so viciously and if Oz didn't want to bleed to death, he had to do something.

It’s teeth were digging into his palm, and Ozpin was starting to panic. He felt himself try to pull on instinct, but it was like the more he tried to pull away, the more he could feel the creature latch on even tighter. He began to thrash, dragging the creature with him, until he unceremoniously trips over a rock. 

Finally, the creature lets go. Ozpin’s jacket sleeves were all ripped up, no doubt because of the beast in front of him. His hand had four huge punctures across his palm, all still bleeding quite terribly.

Ozpin blinks.

Quickly he runs to his backpack, rummaging through it’s contents to retrieve an ointment and a sterile bandage. It still hurts, but it’ll have to do for now. Oz tries to stand up using his good hand, when he hears a strange chirping sound from behind him. He pauses, forgetting all about the reason his hand was like this in the first place.

He turns around, and it seems the creature has been staring at him for some time. Ozpin took that moment to get a second look, and something wasn’t right.

It was strange. It was like nothing he had ever seen. It’s teeth, razor sharp, the incisors that had dug so deeply into Ozpin’s skin. Red lines that ran across its neck, resembling that of gills. A fishhook, embedded into the side of its mouth. 

He spots the tail. Just like a shark. 

Oz removes his glasses before placing them back on again. The creature makes a strange sound, trilling words he couldn’t make out. At least, he assumed they were words. For all he knew, it was a language consisting only of specific sounds. 

Ozpin gasps, clasping his hands together. He remembers that one of his hands hurts like hell.

Gritting through the pain, he smiles. 

“I don’t believe it. There’s...you’re a…” He trails off, unable to contain his giddiness. He hops up and down, letting out a loud yell.

“I’ve never seen something the likes of you before! This is...incredible! You’re like a...a mermaid!” Ozpin exclaims, before remembering that he must keep quiet, given that he isn’t really supposed to be out here anyways. He lowers his voice to a whisper, and kneels down in front of the mermaid. He had thrown caution to the wayside, getting as close as he was. “This is amazing. You look...well, less terrible, now that you are not clinging to my skin.”

The mermaid continues to stare at his hand.

Ozpin takes his injured hand out of view, holding it behind his back. 

It tilts its head at Ozpin.

“Okay. I have to contain myself. You’re a...fish, of some sort. Part shark? But…” Oz begins to muse aloud. In trying to understand this thing in front of him, he was trying to draw from his very limited knowledge of specific sea life. Sure, he was familiar with some things, it came with the territory. Simply living closer the ocean had taught him much. But this was unprecedented. He barely understood how he should react. This is certainly a secret he’d like to keep to himself, for the time being. 

He’s unaware if security knows this thing exists. He hadn’t seen it before now. Was there something about this shore that had drawn it here? Why?

Ozpin stares back at the...fish mermaid, deep in thought. 

It still stares at him. Its claws were rather long, and it had planted them on the ground. Around its webbed fingers were red rings, perhaps an indication of venom? 

It makes a sound again, startled by something in the distance.

Oh.

Ozpin turns around, spotting security guards entering the vicinity. They have flashlights, and it seems like they heard some of the commotion.

“Shit.” Ozpin says, grabbing his backpack. He quickly enters the water, getting his coat and clothes all wet. He’ll definitely regret this later, but he had to do something. He couldn’t let them interrupt this moment. He joins the fish mermaid thing in the water, lowering himself in the water. It follows him behind a giant rock that Oz assumes would be good cover while he waits for security to leave.

It chirps, and he notices it trying to latch onto his arm again.

“Shh, no! Not- again! Don’t grab that!” Ozpin yells, trying to get his hand and arm away from it as much as possible. It chirps again, its tail swishing back and forth. It seems delighted. Oz has no idea what to do. 

This was a mistake, he thinks, trying to dodge the fish creature’s teeth and claws. 

“You will not grab my arm again until they’re gone, okay? Can you promise me that?” He says, giving his most convincing ‘puppy eyes’ look at the mermaid. 

Thankfully, it seems to back off. It stares back at Ozpin, waiting patiently.

Is that really all it took?

Before Ozpin could speculate further, their surroundings became rather quiet. It seemed safe now. Oz lets out a sigh of relief, free of that nerve wracking experience. His clothes are all ruined. “I suppose it is worth it. I got to see you up close, yeah?” Oz says, turning to his rather fishy companion again. 

It chirps, its claws repeating Ozpin’s hand clasp from earlier. 

Somehow, the mimic is very endearing.

As he exits the water, the creature attempts to follow him. It’s claws dig into the sand, trying to grab anchor points that will allow it to crawl out of the water. Ozpin wonders if it can breathe that way. Surely it wouldn’t do something that is a danger to its well being. It struggles, trying desperately to try and drag its body through the sand, but it seems that outside of the water it is much more difficult to move. Its back fins flare up, probably indicating its frustration by this.

Ozpin chuckles, bending down to its level.

“Do not worry. I’m not going anywhere far.” He says, gentle. Oz couldn’t control himself from reaching a hand out, ruffling the fish creature’s coarse hair. The creature suddenly leans forward, its teeth out and ready to bite. Ozpin thanks his quick reflexes, taking his hand back before it could latch on.

So bitey.

The creature sure loved to give mixed signals. It growls, sizing him up. A second later, it chirps happily. Almost like it understood what Oz was trying to say. 

“I’ll come back for you. I don’t know if you can understand me, but...this has to be some manner of fate. You’re what I’ve been looking for all along! Your existence is...a marvel! Whatever I have to do, I will surely be back!” Ozpin exclaims, excited all over again.

It was too much! Though it was happy, it still seemed wary of him. He wonders how he could draw such a reaction, didn’t this thing have any friends around? Somewhere to be? 

Ozpin speculates, but he knows he can’t stick around for long. His curiosity eats away at him. As much as he wanted to stay and figure out what’s going on, it wouldn’t be long before security made its rounds and he would be interrupted constantly in the middle of the night. It wouldn’t do. 

He debates on whether he should tell Glynda of his discovery. He wasn’t sure of how wise of an idea it was, though. As Oz grabs his soaked things, he starts to walk towards the boardwalk. He hears several trills behind him, maybe a goodbye? Regardless, he turns around, waving at the creature. 

It flops around at the edge of the shore, before slowly lowering itself back into the water.

It was gone.

He continued to watch the shore, but it didn’t reemerge.

Ozpin hopes he didn’t lose his chance. Was that a mistake? Maybe he should’ve stayed-

He sighs. He could only hope.

Oz looks down at all of the things in his backpack, ruined from the water. Several papers, torn apart from being submerged for so long. He stares at the bandages on his hand, the giant and ugly red stain under them. Perhaps he was in over his head.

He shakes his head, walking off. Desperately, he hopes he didn’t chase it away.

* * *

Along the distance, the shore is quiet. As the strange man walks off, he gently scratches his claws against the nearby rock. He glances down at his tail, bruised and battered. 

He makes a sound, only understandable to himself.

Gazing towards the waters that surround him, he sees nothing. Nothing like him in sight. The waves were no longer soothing. It was suddenly quiet. It was deafening. 

He stares along the shore, deep in the water. 

He was lonely again.


End file.
